Letters -- Published Dec. 21, 2012

I have been in contact with state Sen. Lois Wolk's office about Medi-Cal. I am on Social Security disability, but the state of California says that I'm not eligible for state benefits.

I have been in contact with state Sen. Lois Wolk's office about Medi-Cal. I am on Social Security disability, but the state of California says that I'm not eligible for state benefits.

Does the state think that a $34-a-month cost of living allowance will pay for a $200-a-month supplemental insurance plan?

We improve health care for prisoners, but not the common citizens of the state of California.

Eric C. Gibson

Stockton

Over the years, The Record has made significant changes. The addition of color has been a positive one. Other factors cause concern, such as:

» Formerly, world, national and state news were in the first section and local area news was in the second. The reader knew immediately where to find articles of personal concern.

» Some of the major, front-page news has been replaced by an advertisement.

» "A picture is worth a thousand words" should not be taken literally for all pictures, particularly when it is a photo of a painting that is also repeated, large, and again in full color, a few pages later.

» In one recent edition, a participant who lost a competition had a full-color photo in section A, while the winner had a smaller black-and-white photo elsewhere in the paper.

» The title "3-minute Record" suggests a digest of the news; however, that page is more commonly a mixture of celebrity tabloid, movie briefs, ads, a comic strip, etc.

At times, it would see that when there is not enough news to fill the page, the standard solution is to enlarge the pictures and headlines, and to distribute blank space as needed. With all the significant state, national and world news available to The Record, it is as if readers are expected to receive unpublished accounts from TV and satellite, and not the NEWSpaper.

Ruth A. Radmore

Stockton

I read recently in The Record about Iranian scientists who have run computer simulations for a nuclear weapon that would produce more than triple the explosive force of the World War II bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

I was with Paul Tibbets at North Island San Diego naval air base in 1943. Tibbets piloted the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on any nation in the early hours of Aug. 6, 1945.

That unleashed the most terrifying weapon the world had ever seen, demolishing Hiroshima. After a second bomb was dropped, this one on Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.

In 1954, I was on a communication ship, and we went to the Marshall Islands to test atomic weapons. Six atomic bombs were detonated and blew several islands out of the ocean. Then the first hydrogen bomb was used, a weapon 1,000 times larger than the one Tibbets dropped on Hiroshima.

I will say we have hydrogen bombs that can demolish any city, large or small. Or even Iran, with just one violent blast.

Scott Paris

Stockton

Mayor Ann Johnston is a classy, brave and dedicated lady. We should thank her for her service!